The characterisation that "The typical new prostitute is a 13-year-old girl of color might be taken as reflecting some bias, although it's close enough to accurate to be taken as "true enough."

Observation (with no research to support it) suggests that in my area the main "common characteristic" among "street workers" (the only ones overtly visible) is drug addiction, with the majority of those seen being of "mature age" and unemployable because of their addictions.

In most parts of the world, recent expostulations suggest that the typical new prostitute is a girl or young woman lured by an advertisement promising "good paying jobs" in a foreign country where they won't know the language, customs or legal protections, and can be kept in a state of slavery to "work off the costs of transportation - if they live that long."

In large part, the "customers" for these sex-slaves come from ethnic settlements, sometimes from among those legally in the new country who do have at least language in common; but there is good evidence that they're also "sold or rented" to the most perverse and depraved among more general populations.

Runaway (or more accurately "lured away?") children are exceedingly vulnerable to being forced into prostitution; but confirmable statistics are difficult to find on just how many of such kids are actually "active" as sex workers at a given time.

There is a vast difference between vulnerable persons forced into slavery for sex, and those who willingly decide to engage in sexual services as a business/profession, so maybe it's really two separate subjects. The change in Canadian law doesn't do much for the slaves, although it's probably a good thing (if it holds up) for the willing workers.

John